Slow cooked roast lamb- L'angello arrosto

Ah roast lamb, but not just any ole roast lamb. It's show stopping nine hour slow roasted fall off the bone roast lamb. In fact the best roast lamb ever, but minimal fuss required. Truthfully I am not typically the one to cook Easter lunch, as I have always been invited to friend's houses over the last several years whilst living in Italy, where lamb has always played a starring role. Probably one of my most notable memories was a family who had a dedicated room for frying, and lamb cutlets were no exception. Last year was my first year back here in Melbourne, and I cooked this beauty. That's how slow I am with my blog posts these days. However, as Easter 2019 is broaching, I thought I should share my fool proof recipe for you.

The tradition of eating lamb at Easter dates before the birth of Christianity.  To discus the history of religion and it's connection to lamb I would have to start another blog. However Christian's refer to Jesus as the "Lamb of God", so it is not surprising that lamb plays an important part as part of Easter celebrations. On a less symbolic note, in Europe centuries ago, lamb would have been one of the only fresh meats available after a cold and long winter.

The best thing about this recipe is that you literally place everything in the pan and pretty much leave it in the oven, allowing the wine and lamb to get acquainted. I guarantee that the bone literally falls out, and no carving is required. Allowing you to concentrate on more important things on Easter Day, family. Buona Pasqua xxx 

What you need:

One large leg of lamb, about 3 kilo's (mine was 3.6 kilo's)

Four onions, peeled and quartered

One garlic bulb, whole bulb sliced in half

Four carrots, peel and cut in half lengthways 

400ml white wine

200ml beef stock (homemade)

Handful of rosemary sprigs 

Extra vigin olive oil

Salt and pepper

What to do:

Remember that this recipe takes about 7-9 HOURS to cook (depending on the size of the lamb).

1: Preheat oven to 120 degrees C.

2: Place a large baking pan on the stove top and heat. Brown all sides of the lamb in the pan using a little olive oil. If you do not brown the lamb at this stage, the meat will remain a pale colour.

3: Once browned, add ALL of the ingredients to the large pan with the lamb, placing the ingredients evenly around the lamb. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

4: Tightly cover the pan with aluminium foil (or even better if your pan has a tight sealed lid).

5: Place in the oven and cook for about 7-9 hours depending on the size of your lamb. The lamb needs to be turned only twice during the cooking process, make sure when you turn the lamb that you cover it in it's own juices, recover and return to the oven until it literally falls of the bone.

6: The lamb is ready when the bone can literally removed with thongs, it really does just fall out.

7: Serve immediately with your favourite side dishes. It is nice to serve the lamb on a large plater with the vegetable pieces soaked in the  juices and presented with some fresh sprigs of rosemary. Drizzle over some of the remains pan juices. Enjoy

#pasqua #lamb #angello #arrosto #buonadomenica 

Rosticciana/ Roasted pork ribs

So now I am going to share with you my simple go-to recipe when my mind goes blank and I need to prepare something that requires zero effort but needs to be delicious. 

This specilaity always gets guests asking for more and pleading for the recipe. The great things about this is that all of the preparation can be done well in advance and almost forgotten about, making it the perfect main course to serve at a dinner party. I can't even recall the amount of times that I have made this, as it frequently presented on my table at home and at work. I don't like to say that I have a signature dish as I really do love cooking so many, but if I had to name one, then la rosticciana would have to be one of them. 

In fact I recently resorted to serving this ole faithful for Alessandro`s brothers 40th birthday party I hosted for fifteen guests at our home. I was able to marinate the meat in the morning and concentrate on other preparations. The long and slow cooking period combined with the quality of the meat guarantees that your meat will be falling of the bone and melting in your mouth.

Rosticciana is a typical Tuscan dish and is traditionally cooked in wood fired oven or with coals. If you are like me and have a regular conventional oven at home follow these simple steps for an earth shattering result! For a `Tuscan touch` serve in small terracotta bowls! I always serve this with `contorni` side dishes of roast fennel, roast potatoes, and sautéed spinach.

What you will need: This recipe will serve 4/5 people allowing for 2/3 pork ribs per person!

700 grams of Pork Ribs. It is much cheaper to buy the full rib and cut it at home, it is really simple to do. Or ask your butcher to cut the ribs for you into 2/3 cm pieces

1/2 litre of dry white wine 

A good drizzle of olive oil

A few cloves of garlic squashed 

A good handful of dried fennel seeds

Lots of cracked pepper and Sicilian salt 

A few sprigs of rosemary from the garden 

1.5 kilos of uncut pork ribs.

How to make:

1: Place the pre cut pork ribs flesh side down in a large oven proof dish

2: Liberally pour over the white wine which should come up half way but not totally covering the meat

3: Drizzle over the olive oil and evenly sprinkle the fennel seeds, salt and cracked pepper. Making sure it is well seasoned. Randomly place in the smashed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs. Cover with foil and place in the fridge until ready to cook 

4: Place in a 180 degree oven for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 140 degrees and cook for a further 1 1/2 hours. Every half and hour use a spoon to douse the meat with the wine juices 

5: The meat is ready when the meat has shrunk in half, the skin is dark and crispy and the bones become exposed 

6: Serve immediately with your chosen side dishes and make sure you drizzle over the wine juices using like a gravy 

#rosticciana #pork #porkribs #roast 

Carpaccio di manzo (raw beef carpaccio)

On my first visit to Rome many years ago I found myself in little Trattoria down a hidden lane-way. It was perfect, it was everything I had every dreamed of and more. The waiter spoke no English but I was enthusiastic to speak the limited Italian I knew back then.  There was no menu and the waiter proceeded to reel off the specialties of the day quickly in Italian, I completely bluffed my way through. Any-way the short of the story is that I unknowingly ended up ordering several different forms of 'carpaccio', raw meat. This to me now would not be so shocking, but back then it was a little overwhelming. I am a big fan of a single dish of carpaccio, especially when I know what to expect. 

Carpaccio is a dish consisting of thinly slices of raw meat, traditionally beef. It was invented at Harry's Bar in Venice, where a Countess had requested it. Her Doctor had advised her to be on a special diet including that of raw meat.

I love the different textures and flavours, especially the creamy subtly of the meat. There are many recipes and additions that you can add to carpaccio, but in my experience it is simply served with rocket and parmesan. You can cure it in lemon juice for a longer amount of time if desired.

What you need:

200g top quality beef (100g per person)

handful of rocket leaves

freshly slivers of parmesan cheese

lemon juice

freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of sea salt

200g beef eye fillet 

How to make:

1: Slice the beef in the thinnest possible slices (Jamie Oliver once suggested to place the beef in the freezer to harden beef, making it easier to slice OR ask your butcher to thinly slice for you but it may brown so use it quickly). I slice it myself

2: Arrange thin slices of beef on a plate, squeeze fresh lemon juice and oil over meat (cover and place in the fridge for 10 minutes if you want the meat to cure). I let mine rest for 5 minuets.  

3: Place rocket leaves and slices of Parmesan on top, drizzle with a little oil, finish with pepper and salt

taking a rest in a door-way in Venice

Salsiccia e patate al forno (sausage and potato baked in oven)

Honestly, there is nothing extravagant about this dish.  This is as about as simple as home cooking gets.  That's not to say it's not immensely tasty.  I always enjoy retrieving a baking dish from the oven that I earlier filled with love.  In this case the love came from sausages and potatoes. I don't think there is an Italian household that at some stage has not cooked this dish. The key is to either make your own sausages or get to know a reliable butcher. This recipe requires good quality Italian pork sausages.  The potatoes soak up all of the juices from the sausages as they are cooked beneath. The fennel adds a complimentary touch!  Use some crusty bread to make sure all of the meaty pan juices don't go to waste!

What you need (to feed 6-8 people):

ten good quality Italian pork sausages

15 medium size chat potatoes 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

two teaspoons fennel seeds

two rosemary sprigs

two smashed garlic cloves 

half a bottle of white house wine

salt and cracked black pepper

How to make:

1: Cut the potatoes in half and place evenly in a oven proof baking dish (with lid). 

2: Cover with olive oil and use hands to throughly coat potatoes.  Tear sprigs of rosemary and roughly smash garlic, add to pot and mix through.  Finish with salt and pepper, again mix through.

3: Starting in the middle of the pot, add the sausages in a circular motion. Add a few sprigs of rosemary and a little garlic.

4: Prick sausages with a fork, so they do not burst in the oven.

5: Place lid on and place in a pre-heated 180 degrees oven for approximately 45 minutes.  Remove the lid for the last 5 minutes to slightly brown sausages.

dish before placed in the oven

cooking away in the oven

"Festa di ossobuco" (ossobuco party)

Today a dear friend reminded me of this moment, and I just laughed out loud.  I thought it needed to be shared with you, hoping that you too will have a giggle.  This photograph was taken in Viareggio of me riding my bike over to a house filled with expecting hungry Italian mouths (I am using my phone to txt for the address).  In the front basket is a large saucepan filled with ossobuco.  I think originally my bike was also loaded with wine bottles and bread on the back, but I found it hard to keep my balance.  The 'ossobuco party' was hosted by my friend Stefano (ciao Stef), who helped in the preparation of the much anticipated evening.  The deal was I could make the ossobuco if Stefano purchased the meat from his much trusted butcher. We then prepared the accompaniment of 'risotto alla milanese' once I arrived with the ossobuco!

This is a dish I have loved making for many years. It is almost a tradition for me to make it as soon as the winter months hit as it really is a soul warmer. I will soon share with you the recipe!

Ciao x

Stefano serving the risotto!

Arista di maiale al latte (roast pork in milk)

This recipe is not for the faint hearted- vegetarians look the other way!  I was surprised when I first learnt of this method of roasting pork- cooking meat in milk?  It truly is wonderful, and I suggest next time your think of roasting a leg give this recipe a try.  Not only was the meat super tender and filled with flavour, the table were engaged with talk about how this result was achieved.  This particular leg of pork was a whopping five kilos, but was served to a large table of fifteen.  The general rule of thumb is to cook one litre of milk to one kilo of meat. The milk adopts all the flavours of the meat, vegetables and herbs, the carrot helps to colour the sauce and the potato helps to thicken- creating a perfect natural gravy. Serve the roast pork with the 'milk gravy', roast potatoes and a side of buttered spinach! It is also nice to have some roast meat left over for the next day. I used the remaining meat to fill homemade focaccia's with rosemary...so good!!! 

What you need (remember one litre of milk to one kilo of pork):
leg of pork (I used 4.8 kilo..HUGE)
four litres of milk
1 onion roughly sliced
two carrots roughly sliced
two cloves of chopped garlic
one potato chopped roughly
fresh sage and rosemary
two tablespoon butter
one tablespoon olive oil
rock salt and cracked black pepper

How to make:

1: Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees.

2: Put the pork in a deep pan baking pan

3: Warm the milk and butter and add to baking pan, the pork should be half submerged in milk

4: Add the remaining ingredients loosely around pork

5: Rub rosemary, rock salt, garlic and cracked pepper in pork (get in all the creases)

6: Place pork covered in tin foil in oven, mid shelf

7: If you are cooking a large pork, then keep covered until the last one hour, then remove foil.  Or if you a cooking a standard size pork of one kilo, there is no need to cover at all.  The general guideline is to cook in a low oven, one hour per kilo of meat.

8: Remove the meat from oven, cover in tin foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes- keeping all the lovely juice inside!

9: Strain the remaining milk juices into a small saucepan, ensure all fat is skimmed and chunks removed.  Passing it through a sieve will ensure a creamy, smooth gravy

10: Carve slices of meat and serve generously with gravy!

Buon apetito!

Lasagne

This hands down is one of my favourite things to make, although I rarely do.  Although it is simple to make, it is a tedious process which results in a sense of occasion.  I normally set aside at least half a day to make it, especially when making my own lasange sheets.  I always make more than required as it is always nice to have left-overs, especially when it has taken so much effort!

As discussed in my "ragu alla bolognese' recipe, there are many different ingredients that can be added- no two recipes are the same.  I have tasted different varieties of lasagne where various cheeses have been used, such as ricotta and mozzarella (not the soapy variety we buy in Australian supermarkets). A friend's Sicilian grandmother used to add a thin layer of whisked eggs resulting in a creamy, rich texture.  I like to keep mine simple, I have learnt in this instance "less is more"- a wise Italian woman taught me this!

The main four key fundamentals needed are: meat sauce, bechamel sauce, pasta sheets, parmesan cheese.

Invite your best friends over to share in the fruits of your labour!

What you will need (this will make two large lasagne trays):
1: Bolongese sauce (refer to recipe)
2: Bechamel sauce (refer to recipe)
3: Make fresh pasta sheets (refer to recipe), or buy fresh pasta sheets (about 700g)
4: 250g finely grated FRESH parmesan cheese (you can ask your local deli to grate for you)

How to make:

1: Make the meat sauce first, set aside

2: Make the bechamel sauce, set aside (if it becomes too thick add a little milk)

3: Cook the pasta sheets in salted boiling water, remove and place on tea-towel

4: Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in large tray, cover with pasta sheets and cut to size, spread pasta sheet with bechemel sauce, sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese

5: Repeat this process until you have used all of the ingredients.  There should be 4-5 layers of pasta.  Top the final layer of pasta with a generous amount of bechamel sauce and grated parmesan cheese.

5: Cover with tin foil and place in the fridge (leave overnight to enhance flavour)

6:  Cook in a pre-heated 180 degrees oven for 1/2 hour, remove foil and cook a further 10 minuets until golden.

Buon apetito!

Ragù alla bolognese (bolognese sauce)

I can see Italian's now throwing their hands in the air "ai ai ai that's not how you make it"!!  
Yes, there are many ways to make bolongese sauce, and admittedly I change the way in which I make it from time to time.  Today, I simply decided to share with you the way in which I made it today, trust me there were no complaints!  This recipe has the fundamentals of how I usually make my sauce, and is perfect for winter!

The first known reference to "ragu alla bolognese" dates back to the late 18th century originating from Bologna.  It is traditionally served with tagliatelle pasta. There is so much love, care and attention needed when making ragu. My theory is that if I go to the effort needed to make the sauce, then I always make my own fresh tagliatelle pasta. 
Last year I gave my Italian friend a `care pack`, which included a container of my ragu, pasta and some other items. On Sunday he invited his Mother over for lunch, and unbeknownst to me served my sauce and pasta. His Mother took a mouthful, there was silence,  then her eyes welled with tears as she said that this pasta takes her back to her childhood, when her Nonna used to cook the same tasting sauce. Filled with aromatic spices. I still get a little chocked up thinking about that special moment. That food can play such an important part of our memories, emotions and encounters.  

On a visit to Bologna it confirmed that using a variety of meats is the key to making a more complex sauce, and traditionally it was made using predominantly veal.

I have tried and loved many sauces, from the North to the South of Italy (the sauce becomes lighter and more tomato based further south).  Each sauce is different, and each household holds a secret! 

This is a robust sauce, that I feel respects the origins and authenticity!  Serve with fresh homemade pasta, top with freshly grated parmigiano cheese and enjoy with red wine. Bliss! 

What you need:
500g mince beef
250g mince veal
250g mince pork
four juicy Italian pork sausages 
two x 400g tomato pulp tins (made in Italy)
1/2 cup olive oil
one onion
two carrots
two celery stalks
5-6 gloves garlic
handful fresh parsley
handful fresh sage
handful fresh oregano
large sprig of rosemary 
1-2 tablespoon fresh grated nutmeg
three bay leaves
500mls red wine
three cups beef stock (homemade)
two tablespoon tomato paste/concentrate
salt and black pepper to taste

How to make:

1: First you need to make the 'sofritto' (the Italian term for combining evenly chopped pieces of carrot, onion, celery, garlic and parsley to a pan).  Cooked the vegetables in the olive oil until soft.  TIP: add a little salt which will help slow down the cooking process and result in perfectly soft, translucent onions.

2: Add the mixed meats to the large saucepan and lightly brown.  Continue to stir and make sure meat is evenly cooked through.

3: Add the herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper- stir through.

3:  Add the wine and cook for a further five minuets.

4: Add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer, occasionally stirring for two hours.  Make a day ahead to allow the flavours to deepen!

rooftop view over Bologna

pasta making with Stephanie